“Just shoot me.”
This is the most common response that I hear when I take people into a nursing home to visit someone.
The facilities often have a distinctive odor. The halls are lined with elders slumped over in wheelchairs. There is a feeling of depression and discouragement. Too often, the staff are unavailable or harried — overworked, underpaid and undervalued. A place people do not choose to go to, but end up in due to lack of family support or because the family is overwhelmed at the care needs of the individual.
Think this will never happen to you? Think again.
Your chances of ending up in a nursing home are pretty good. If you make it to 65, you have a 50% chance of requiring nursing home care for at least 2 ½ years sometime in your life. Usually at the end. This was true before the pandemic. It’s much worse now.
We are facing a care crisis in our nation — and locally. The need for eldercare is great, as the silver tsunami of the Baby Boomer generation crashes into elderhood. And yet, skilled nursing facilities are rapidly shutting down. More than twenty have closed in Iowa in the last year.
The elders have been shuttled off to other care homes. They are often at a distance — not in proximity to family and friends.
Furthermore, it is very difficult to employ and maintain quality caregivers. The work is hard, and the pay often inadequate. Many very good care workers have left their profession in the last 24 months. Replacing them has not been happening. The situation is dire.
This is further complicated by the corporate culture that now controls or owns most nursing homes. Gone are the days of the locally-owned, often faith-based care homes. As those homes become available, they are usually purchased by out-of-town, for-profit entities.
Then they are run and, I would say, run down by the pressure to cut costs and maximize profit. The new, for-profit owners trim services and have questionable staffing practices. The victims of this setup are the elders, who are unable to advocate for themselves and are increasingly neglected. And even abused.
This is happening now in southeast Iowa. Right under our noses. To our friends and family members. And sometime, in the not-too-distant future, it very well could be you.
What to do?
What if, as a community, we rededicate ourselves to ‘taking care of our own’ through locally-run, private, non-profit organizations that would keep the priority where it needs to be — on the compassionate, respectful, effective care of our elders, our family members and friends?
The current culture of hierarchical care structures obviously does not work. Let’s build a team approach that places the residents and their immediate care providers at the center of the care dynamic and more in control.
This kind of eldercare could provide a wholesome work environment that honors this crucial need. These homes could be wonderful employers for immigrants and younger workers.
The possibilities are great, and we certainly need to see a change as soon as possible. This will require a collective effort of the entire community. A commitment of time and resources. But consider how much we stand to gain from creating better solutions to this growing crisis.